Missouri Unemployment Stats and News

Missouri Unemployment Stats

Current and Historical Missouri Stats Analysis

Missouri’s unemployment rate has been on the rise since the early months of 2016. Currently 5.4 percent, Missouri saw its lowest unemployment stats since 2010 when unemployment spiked to over 10 percent. In January, February, and March 2016, the unemployment rate hovered at a low of 4.2 percent, but Missouri unemployment stats have taken a pretty sharp upturn since June, reaching the current 5.4 percent over just three months this past summer.

Missouri’s unemployment rate increase is the worst in the country this quarter, jumping 0.4 percent in August alone, which is above the national average of 5.1 percent. According to The Missouri Times, Missouri is currently one of five states that have experienced the slowest economic recovery from the 2008 recession.

Missouri Unemployment News

Missouri Unemployment in the News

Missouri residents that receive unemployment benefits recently battled a ruling that limited the unemployment benefit period to 13 weeks, one of the shortest in the country. This created a tremendous burden on the unemployed, especially since Missouri’s unemployment rate remains one of the highest in the nation.

The Missouri Supreme Court struck down the law, returning unemployment benefit eligibility to its prior maximum of 20 weeks, saying the Republican-led legislation should never have taken effect because of the way it was passed.

As of July, more than 14,000 people had lost their benefits because of the 2015 law, many of whom may now be eligible to collect the unemployment benefits they were denied as a result of the cut. Lauren Schad, a spokesperson for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the department will send information about how to claim their denied benefits to those people.

Democratic governor Jay Nixon vetoed the bill containing the cut to unemployment benefits on May 5, 2015. The state Senate voted to override the veto a week later, but did not take action against the veto until September. This delay allowed the Supreme Court majority to void the Senate’s vote.

The Republican Senate, however, wants to try to curb unemployment benefits again. Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard said, "My ask of the Republican Senate would be, 'Let's get ready and try it again,'" but Gov. Nixon has a different idea, saying the court ruling "is good news for thousands of Missourians who were wrongfully denied the unemployment benefits they had earned."

Missouri will have a new governor when the Legislature meets for its next session in 2017, because Nixon has reached his term limit, so the fate of Missouri unemployment benefits remains uncertain for the near future.